Author: Dan Hiergesell

UFC lightweight title contenders Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov are dying to get inside of the Octagon with one another. The two were scheduled to fight for the interim UFC lightweight strap back at UFC 209, but Nurmagomedov was pulled from the fight due to health issues stemming from a severe weight cut.

Now, “El Cucuy” and “Eagle” are lobbying their asses off to lock down a meeting at UFC 217 on Nov. 4 from inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. While nothing is official, it’s the most logical move for the 155-pound division, especially considering current champion Conor McGregor is off doing his thing in moneyland.

In preparation for their potential matchup at UFC 217, Ferguson recently gave fight fans a preview of what he plans to do to Nurmagomedov. The above video, which “El Cucuy” posted via Instagram, shows Ferguson tapping Nurmagomedov out with a rare twister submission while playing EA Sports UFC 2.

“F*ck you, Khabib,” shouted Ferguson while watching the video replay of the finish.

While Ferguson is unlikely to catch the Russian grappler in a twister of this fashion, he’ll undoubtedly bring a plethora of ground attacks with him when the two square off later this year. Ferguson will be putting his nine-fight win streak on the line while Nurmagomedov aims to keep his perfect 24-0 professional MMA record in tact.

UFC 217 is currently being headlined by a middleweight title fight pitting champion Michael Bisping against former welterweight titleholder Georges St-Pierre, who will be returning after a four-year hiatus from the sport.

UFC lightweight title contenders Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov are dying to get inside of the Octagon with one another. The two were scheduled to fight for the interim UFC lightweight strap back at UFC 209, but Nurmagomedov was pulled from the fight due to health issues stemming from a severe weight cut.

Now, “El Cucuy” and “Eagle” are lobbying their asses off to lock down a meeting at UFC 217 on Nov. 4 from inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. While nothing is official, it’s the most logical move for the 155-pound division, especially considering current champion Conor McGregor is off doing his thing in moneyland.

In preparation for their potential matchup at UFC 217, Ferguson recently gave fight fans a preview of what he plans to do to Nurmagomedov. The above video, which “El Cucuy” posted via Instagram, shows Ferguson tapping Nurmagomedov out with a rare twister submission while playing EA Sports UFC 2.

“F*ck you, Khabib,” shouted Ferguson while watching the video replay of the finish.

While Ferguson is unlikely to catch the Russian grappler in a twister of this fashion, he’ll undoubtedly bring a plethora of ground attacks with him when the two square off later this year. Ferguson will be putting his nine-fight win streak on the line while Nurmagomedov aims to keep his perfect 24-0 professional MMA record in tact.

UFC 217 is currently being headlined by a middleweight title fight pitting champion Michael Bisping against former welterweight titleholder Georges St-Pierre, who will be returning after a four-year hiatus from the sport.

UFC has lost yet another head honcho. Per a report by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, Joe Carr, UFC’s senior executive of content and international, is departing from the promotion after five years of service. Sources close to the situation say Carr made the decision on his own to exit UFC.

Carr, who joined the promotion back in 2012, helped UFC’s international expansion efforts and played a significant role in the creation of UFC Fight Pass. He leaves behind a productive track record and a major hole to fill heading into the final quarter of 2017.

Carr’s exit from the promotion shouldn’t come as a major surprise considering a handful of executives jumped ship when UFC was sold to international conglomerate WME-IMG last year. Dave Sholler, former UFC senior vice president of public relations and athlete marketing and development, left the promotion back in 2016 in favor of working for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. Joe Silva, UFC’s most recognizable matchmaker, also announced his retirement last year.

With more notoriety comes bigger opportunities for some of the UFC’s big wigs. Carr’s departure probably won’t be the last, especially as old doors close and new doors open under the evolving management of WME-IMG.

UFC has lost yet another head honcho. Per a report by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, Joe Carr, UFC’s senior executive of content and international, is departing from the promotion after five years of service. Sources close to the situation say Carr made the decision on his own to exit UFC.

Carr, who joined the promotion back in 2012, helped UFC’s international expansion efforts and played a significant role in the creation of UFC Fight Pass. He leaves behind a productive track record and a major hole to fill heading into the final quarter of 2017.

Carr’s exit from the promotion shouldn’t come as a major surprise considering a handful of executives jumped ship when UFC was sold to international conglomerate WME-IMG last year. Dave Sholler, former UFC senior vice president of public relations and athlete marketing and development, left the promotion back in 2016 in favor of working for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. Joe Silva, UFC’s most recognizable matchmaker, also announced his retirement last year.

With more notoriety comes bigger opportunities for some of the UFC’s big wigs. Carr’s departure probably won’t be the last, especially as old doors close and new doors open under the evolving management of WME-IMG.

Looking to score some free tickets to the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor superfight later this month? Look no further. Ahead of his boxing showdown with Mayweather on Aug. 26 live on Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, McGregor has teamed up with Betsafe.com to offer fans a chance to win free tickets to the fight and also a seat on the Irishman’s private jet.

“You can win a chance to fly to Las Vegas for fight night, and witness me defeat Floyd Mayweather on Aug. 26. Good luck!” McGregor said in a promotional video (shown above). “You will also be flying in my personal private jet to the venue. I wish you all the best!”

Fight fans must place a bet on the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight and correctly answer a question to enter the contest. Complete details can be found here.

As the new ambassador for Betsafe, McGregor is giving fans a once in a lifetime chance to witness history. You’ll never get to see this sort of matchup again so placing a small bet and answering a random question will be more than worth it.

Looking to score some free tickets to the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor superfight later this month? Look no further. Ahead of his boxing showdown with Mayweather on Aug. 26 live on Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, McGregor has teamed up with Betsafe.com to offer fans a chance to win free tickets to the fight and also a seat on the Irishman’s private jet.

“You can win a chance to fly to Las Vegas for fight night, and witness me defeat Floyd Mayweather on Aug. 26. Good luck!” McGregor said in a promotional video (shown above). “You will also be flying in my personal private jet to the venue. I wish you all the best!”

Fight fans must place a bet on the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight and correctly answer a question to enter the contest. Complete details can be found here.

As the new ambassador for Betsafe, McGregor is giving fans a once in a lifetime chance to witness history. You’ll never get to see this sort of matchup again so placing a small bet and answering a random question will be more than worth it.

Like most fighters who share the same appetite for destruction, UFC welterweight veteran Matt Brown is currently experiencing the lows of professional mixed martial arts (MMA). Not only has the former title contender lost five out of his last six Octagon appearances, including a recent knockout defeat to Donald Cerrone back at UFC 206, but the 36-year-old is unsure of his long-term UFC future.

That said, Brown simply can’t walk away at this point. In fact, the fan favorite brawler is planning on returning to the Octagon this fall.

“I’m not rushing but I am looking at probably October,” Brown said in a recent interview with BJ Penn Radio. “Well if I can get an opponent. I have been talking to Sean Shelby and we are just looking for an opponent. You know half of getting a fight is finding someone to fight. It looks like that is probably going to be the timetable but I don’t know if it is going to work out with opponents and everything. I should hear something back very soon actually.

“We talked about October 7 (UFC 216), obviously I can’t announce anything because I don’t have an opponent. But yea, it is supposed to be October 7. I am just waiting for an opponent.”

Brown, who compiled a seven-fight win streak from 2012-2014, hasn’t won inside of the cage since submitting Tim Means back at UFC 189. He has dropped two consecutive fights by way of knockout and hasn’t been this far removed from title contention in years. Still, “The Immortal” is living up to his moniker and looking to stay alive at 170 pounds.

“I am ready to fight anybody. You know there are a lot of good matchups out there for me right now,” Brown said. “Obviously I have to get a few wins together here before worrying about fighting someone like (Tyron) Woodley. With that said, I think I matchup good with Woodley. I feel like I’m a lot like Rory MacDonald. He (Rory) showed the blueprint on how to beat Woodley. But yea man I am pretty much ready to fight anybody.”

“I know that Cowboy (Cerrone) was trying to get on the UFC 216 fight card,” Brown continued. “I told Sean (Shelby) that I would gladly take that fight. You know if he really wants on that card I will be there. Other than that, like you said the landscape changes so much with guys getting wins or getting hurt. I really don’t know who is all available to fight.”

Another bout opposite “Cowboy” would certainly excite fight fans, but it’s highly unlikely considering Brown just lost to Cerrone this past December. Instead, Brown could be matched up against an up-and-coming contender to see where he currently resides in the welterweight division.

Like most fighters who share the same appetite for destruction, UFC welterweight veteran Matt Brown is currently experiencing the lows of professional mixed martial arts (MMA). Not only has the former title contender lost five out of his last six Octagon appearances, including a recent knockout defeat to Donald Cerrone back at UFC 206, but the 36-year-old is unsure of his long-term UFC future.

That said, Brown simply can’t walk away at this point. In fact, the fan favorite brawler is planning on returning to the Octagon this fall.

“I’m not rushing but I am looking at probably October,” Brown said in a recent interview with BJ Penn Radio. “Well if I can get an opponent. I have been talking to Sean Shelby and we are just looking for an opponent. You know half of getting a fight is finding someone to fight. It looks like that is probably going to be the timetable but I don’t know if it is going to work out with opponents and everything. I should hear something back very soon actually.

“We talked about October 7 (UFC 216), obviously I can’t announce anything because I don’t have an opponent. But yea, it is supposed to be October 7. I am just waiting for an opponent.”

Brown, who compiled a seven-fight win streak from 2012-2014, hasn’t won inside of the cage since submitting Tim Means back at UFC 189. He has dropped two consecutive fights by way of knockout and hasn’t been this far removed from title contention in years. Still, “The Immortal” is living up to his moniker and looking to stay alive at 170 pounds.

“I am ready to fight anybody. You know there are a lot of good matchups out there for me right now,” Brown said. “Obviously I have to get a few wins together here before worrying about fighting someone like (Tyron) Woodley. With that said, I think I matchup good with Woodley. I feel like I’m a lot like Rory MacDonald. He (Rory) showed the blueprint on how to beat Woodley. But yea man I am pretty much ready to fight anybody.”

“I know that Cowboy (Cerrone) was trying to get on the UFC 216 fight card,” Brown continued. “I told Sean (Shelby) that I would gladly take that fight. You know if he really wants on that card I will be there. Other than that, like you said the landscape changes so much with guys getting wins or getting hurt. I really don’t know who is all available to fight.”

Another bout opposite “Cowboy” would certainly excite fight fans, but it’s highly unlikely considering Brown just lost to Cerrone this past December. Instead, Brown could be matched up against an up-and-coming contender to see where he currently resides in the welterweight division.

The ongoing feud between Team McGregor and former professional boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi came to a climax earlier tonight (Fri., Aug. 11, 2017) when Conor McGregor opened up about the incident during his open media workout (full replay here) live from inside the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Remember, Malignaggi joined Team McGregor to help “Notorious” train for his upcoming boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26 from Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately, Malignaggi had a fallout with McGregor and his camp after a photo was released showing the former boxer down on the canvas. From there, Malignaggi spilled the beans about all the horrible experiences he had while sparring with “Notorious.” Up until now, McGregor hadn’t publicly responded.

“It shows his character in my opinion,” McGregor said of Malginaggi leaving on bad terms. “He was looking for an exit. The spars were not good for him. He took a lot of head trauma. Straight after it we were worried. The sparring partners were actually telling us when he was drove back to the home he was stumbling out of the car after the 12-rounder.

“He was knocked down. He was flattened against the ropes. Multiple times the ropes kept him on his feet. We were worried about him. We thought the worst was happening. He was certainly badly concussed.

“And then he just got out of there and went running. I don’t know, I don’t mind Paulie. He came in. He spoke a hell of a game previously. Very disrespectful to the skill set. Very disrespectful to the discipline. But no matter what a man says, if they shows up and tries to answer that and tries their best you have to give respect. And that’s what happened. He showed up and tried his best. It didn’t go his way, he got his ass whooped. He got his pride dented and then he wanted a way out.”

But what about the leaked images that started this entire mess? According to McGregor, he had nothing to do with it, instead opting to post just one single picture.

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Jul 21, 2017 at 2:40am PDT

“As far as the images that got leaked, let me clear this,” McGregor said. “I didn’t leak any images. The image I released, the only image I released, was the original one where my hands were behind my back. And that was in response to the comment where he said ‘I will beat him with one hand tied behind my back.’ So I released one picture with me whooping his ass with both hands behind my back.”

Until the actual sparring footage is released and settles this back-and-forth dispute, fight fans will continue to wonder what really happened between McGregor and Malignaggi. Whichever side of the story rings true, it won’t really help or hurt McGregor’s chances against Mayweather on Aug 26.

The ongoing feud between Team McGregor and former professional boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi came to a climax earlier tonight (Fri., Aug. 11, 2017) when Conor McGregor opened up about the incident during his open media workout (full replay here) live from inside the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Remember, Malignaggi joined Team McGregor to help “Notorious” train for his upcoming boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26 from Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately, Malignaggi had a fallout with McGregor and his camp after a photo was released showing the former boxer down on the canvas. From there, Malignaggi spilled the beans about all the horrible experiences he had while sparring with “Notorious.” Up until now, McGregor hadn’t publicly responded.

“It shows his character in my opinion,” McGregor said of Malginaggi leaving on bad terms. “He was looking for an exit. The spars were not good for him. He took a lot of head trauma. Straight after it we were worried. The sparring partners were actually telling us when he was drove back to the home he was stumbling out of the car after the 12-rounder.

“He was knocked down. He was flattened against the ropes. Multiple times the ropes kept him on his feet. We were worried about him. We thought the worst was happening. He was certainly badly concussed.

“And then he just got out of there and went running. I don’t know, I don’t mind Paulie. He came in. He spoke a hell of a game previously. Very disrespectful to the skill set. Very disrespectful to the discipline. But no matter what a man says, if they shows up and tries to answer that and tries their best you have to give respect. And that’s what happened. He showed up and tried his best. It didn’t go his way, he got his ass whooped. He got his pride dented and then he wanted a way out.”

But what about the leaked images that started this entire mess? According to McGregor, he had nothing to do with it, instead opting to post just one single picture.

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Jul 21, 2017 at 2:40am PDT

“As far as the images that got leaked, let me clear this,” McGregor said. “I didn’t leak any images. The image I released, the only image I released, was the original one where my hands were behind my back. And that was in response to the comment where he said ‘I will beat him with one hand tied behind my back.’ So I released one picture with me whooping his ass with both hands behind my back.”

Until the actual sparring footage is released and settles this back-and-forth dispute, fight fans will continue to wonder what really happened between McGregor and Malignaggi. Whichever side of the story rings true, it won’t really help or hurt McGregor’s chances against Mayweather on Aug 26.

It was quite the performance for Sergio Pettis last night (Sat., Aug. 5, 2017) at UFC Fight Night 114 live on FOX Sports 1 from inside Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico, when he tactically took out rising contender Brandon Moreno to the tune of a five-round unanimous decision.

It was all Moreno in the early going. After coming out in what can only be called a drunken monkey stance, the 23-year-old Mexican took Pettis down, locked in a nasty body triangle and scored ground-and-pound in bunches. Pettis started to open up a little more in Round 2, landing a few hard head kicks and nearly locking in a triangle choke.

Moreno kept abandoning his ground game in favor of striking with Pettis, who utilized his technicality to outpoint “Baby Assassin.” Pettis whipped Moreno with more head kicks, hard right hands, lead jabs, and counter kicks. The damage took a toll as a cut opened up above Moreno’s right eye. The action temporarily stopped when Pettis inadvertently poked Moreno in the eye early into the fourth. When the fight resumed Moreno became on a little more aggressively by moving inside of the pocket and slinging swooping leather. Moreno was able to land one of his best punches of the fight, but Pettis ate it and remained patient.

Moreno opened up the fifth and final frame with a clean takedown. He didn’t do much damage as Pettis defended nicely, but did earn some much needed top time. That was until Pettis flung him off to bring the action back to the feet. Moreno tried to pour it on late, but it was simply too late. Pettis had done enough already to earn the unanimous decision victory.

Check out the full fight video highlights above courtesy of UFC.

With this win, Pettis has done enough to lock down a UFC flyweight title shot his next time out. He has won four-straight fights and is on the short list of available title contenders who have never faced current champion Demetrious Johnson. At 23 years of age, Pettis is far from a complete fighter, but has shown a higher level of maturity inside of the cage over his past few fights.

It was quite the performance for Sergio Pettis last night (Sat., Aug. 5, 2017) at UFC Fight Night 114 live on FOX Sports 1 from inside Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico, when he tactically took out rising contender Brandon Moreno to the tune of a five-round unanimous decision.

It was all Moreno in the early going. After coming out in what can only be called a drunken monkey stance, the 23-year-old Mexican took Pettis down, locked in a nasty body triangle and scored ground-and-pound in bunches. Pettis started to open up a little more in Round 2, landing a few hard head kicks and nearly locking in a triangle choke.

Moreno kept abandoning his ground game in favor of striking with Pettis, who utilized his technicality to outpoint “Baby Assassin.” Pettis whipped Moreno with more head kicks, hard right hands, lead jabs, and counter kicks. The damage took a toll as a cut opened up above Moreno’s right eye. The action temporarily stopped when Pettis inadvertently poked Moreno in the eye early into the fourth. When the fight resumed Moreno became on a little more aggressively by moving inside of the pocket and slinging swooping leather. Moreno was able to land one of his best punches of the fight, but Pettis ate it and remained patient.

Moreno opened up the fifth and final frame with a clean takedown. He didn’t do much damage as Pettis defended nicely, but did earn some much needed top time. That was until Pettis flung him off to bring the action back to the feet. Moreno tried to pour it on late, but it was simply too late. Pettis had done enough already to earn the unanimous decision victory.

Check out the full fight video highlights above courtesy of UFC.

With this win, Pettis has done enough to lock down a UFC flyweight title shot his next time out. He has won four-straight fights and is on the short list of available title contenders who have never faced current champion Demetrious Johnson. At 23 years of age, Pettis is far from a complete fighter, but has shown a higher level of maturity inside of the cage over his past few fights.